With a couple of hours notice of the long overdue mooring maintenance guys being in the bay Monday 8th December 2008, Ben and Sam dropped what they were doing and hurried out to Tui in the Hand on a grey, but temperate day. The mooring had been booked for inspection for almost a year and Tidal Engineering finally decided to turn up without telling us! Frenchie was of no use either, he was on a barge somewhere in the desert near Dubai.
Anyway, we quickly rowed out and put the outboard on the stern. The clamps were well seized and we eventually got one to screw closed with a wrench. We then hooked up the fuel line and pulled. Then pulled again and then pulled a little more. No go. Upon lifting the engine cover, we noticed some sea growth, which is never a good thing on an engine, and qucikly gave up. Thinking we'd missed our annual chance at a mooring inspection, we were plesently surprised with the offer of tying up next to the mooring barge while they did their efficient work. We were passed a bow and stern line and Ben wedged his foot between barge and our hull for about 45 minutes while two pirate-looking "engineers" pulled up a beyond-massive flywheel and gave it a good look at. They replaced the swivel and rope and marked a brand-new bouy EY15. Without much fuss they lowered it back down into a the depths of Duder's Bay, Ben hopped back onboard and they drove off to do some more muddy work.
Ben took the outboard home and then magically reported that it was running again in the new year! Wow! I believe we have his uncle to thank for that. Unfortunately, it would seem that we should have left the mooring to rot and break away. Then our boat may have drifted somewhere safe. Instead, it sat there bobbing away, waiting for trouble to come a knocking.
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Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Ben saves Tui in the Hand from certain doom
The appearance of a letter from the ARC indicated that within 14 days doom* would befall Tui in the Hand and its owners, if a mooring inspection certificate was not presented. Quick thinking and the power of his email-fu, Afterguard extraordinaire quickly flicked two emails off - one to Tidal Engineering and one to ARC, whilst maintaining a link to Sam (via a combination of email-fu and Taekwonsms).
Recent contact with the ARC has relieved us of this doom, as all they need is a booking. Ben has braved the bureaucracy and come out with a satisfactory result.
Schwing!
* For a given definition of doom including towed off the mooring and stored at some heinous price I'm guessing
Recent contact with the ARC has relieved us of this doom, as all they need is a booking. Ben has braved the bureaucracy and come out with a satisfactory result.
Schwing!
* For a given definition of doom including towed off the mooring and stored at some heinous price I'm guessing
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Hacked no more
Big ups go to Beyaz_Hacker for "hacking" the bLog a little while ago. This alleged hacker replaced the bLog index with a more colourful version made in MS word. Beyaz_Hacker's trophy site has been hammered by google and modern web browsers making it almost impossible to view the list of poor exploits.
I had not upgraded wordpress for over a year, so it was no surprise that Beyaz_Hacker managed track down old WP installations to exploit a security hole. I have managed to upgrade to the latest version of WP so hopefully Beyaz_Hacker won't come back for more.
A google search will return a few sites "hacked" in a similar way, though interestingly I haven't found a discussion about it. I can only assume it was a common wordpress hole that has since been plugged.
I had not upgraded wordpress for over a year, so it was no surprise that Beyaz_Hacker managed track down old WP installations to exploit a security hole. I have managed to upgrade to the latest version of WP so hopefully Beyaz_Hacker won't come back for more.
A google search will return a few sites "hacked" in a similar way, though interestingly I haven't found a discussion about it. I can only assume it was a common wordpress hole that has since been plugged.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Easter: Nothing to do but sail
Easter Friday 21st March 2008. Everything was closed. We couldn't get petrol or booze or even food that wasn't bread from a bakery. So we hopped on Tui in the Hand: the only place our modern, materialistic lifestyles can operate sans shops. Eve was called away to keep a watch on the Easter processions on Mt Victoria and failed to join this adventure. We were due two new crew members but Emma let us down once again by partying until the government banned alcohol sales. However we were graced by the company of Ami, the new ship psychologist and resident Cliff Curtis (Sunshine Cliff, not Once Were Warriors child rapist Cliff).
We departed Duder's around 11.00 am and motored half way around North Head before raising the cloth for a good old fashioned drift down Rangitoto Channel. The wind was non-existent but we weren't out there to sail so it wasn't a problem. We compared pizza loaf with pizza bread side-by-side and decided the loaf was far superior. Sam built a refrigerator with a bucket, some water and a dry bag to keep a block of chocolate from melting. From now on the blue bucket is the fridge and the white bucket is the heavy weather toilet (yet to be used and not to be mixed up). As the ship Cliff Curtis, Ami made us exercise our minds to prevent intra-ship tension. We pondered what kind of fruit we would like to be and why. Shortly after we resorted to our old favourite: would you rather. Ben won with "would you rather lose four fingers or a leg?" Though Frenchie would rather drink mouldy Ch'i than get his freak on with Katie.
Becci was brave and jumped overboard first. Frenchie then captured Ben and then Sam jumping off at 16 frames per second (photos to come). A banana's density was compared to that of sea water - bananas float, unlike unopened bottles. We performed a very long tack around a fisherman near Narrowneck Beach around 1.00 pm and made our way back home. The wind remained fluky for the next two hours as we drifted towards and away the shore. Becci and Sam heroically propelled the boat from the water to avoid an anchored boat and later, rocks! We eventually rounded North Head, where the wind picked up and we cranked past the 3.0 knot mark.
Ben made us miss the buoy when we tried to moor by sail, but we cranked el outboard and we were happily moored a few minutes later. Sam manned William Shatner's Pants and rowed the girls to shore while Ben and Frenchie made the vessel ship-shape. Sam then picked them up and we were all home by 5.00 pm. Not bad. Happily, our psychologist did not die as predicted despite bringing a banana on board and being our Cliff Curtis. She is as keen as the rest of us for another outing and is welcomed into the crew. Hopefully when Emma finally joins us we will have as successful a trip.
We departed Duder's around 11.00 am and motored half way around North Head before raising the cloth for a good old fashioned drift down Rangitoto Channel. The wind was non-existent but we weren't out there to sail so it wasn't a problem. We compared pizza loaf with pizza bread side-by-side and decided the loaf was far superior. Sam built a refrigerator with a bucket, some water and a dry bag to keep a block of chocolate from melting. From now on the blue bucket is the fridge and the white bucket is the heavy weather toilet (yet to be used and not to be mixed up). As the ship Cliff Curtis, Ami made us exercise our minds to prevent intra-ship tension. We pondered what kind of fruit we would like to be and why. Shortly after we resorted to our old favourite: would you rather. Ben won with "would you rather lose four fingers or a leg?" Though Frenchie would rather drink mouldy Ch'i than get his freak on with Katie.
Becci was brave and jumped overboard first. Frenchie then captured Ben and then Sam jumping off at 16 frames per second (photos to come). A banana's density was compared to that of sea water - bananas float, unlike unopened bottles. We performed a very long tack around a fisherman near Narrowneck Beach around 1.00 pm and made our way back home. The wind remained fluky for the next two hours as we drifted towards and away the shore. Becci and Sam heroically propelled the boat from the water to avoid an anchored boat and later, rocks! We eventually rounded North Head, where the wind picked up and we cranked past the 3.0 knot mark.
Ben made us miss the buoy when we tried to moor by sail, but we cranked el outboard and we were happily moored a few minutes later. Sam manned William Shatner's Pants and rowed the girls to shore while Ben and Frenchie made the vessel ship-shape. Sam then picked them up and we were all home by 5.00 pm. Not bad. Happily, our psychologist did not die as predicted despite bringing a banana on board and being our Cliff Curtis. She is as keen as the rest of us for another outing and is welcomed into the crew. Hopefully when Emma finally joins us we will have as successful a trip.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Anniversary Day
In keeping with maritime tradition we set sail to celebrate Auckland Anniversary Day 2008 on Monday 28th January. Newcomer Micah joined us on board though unfortunately Emma was too hungover to make a further addition to our growing crew list. We met from 8.30 to 9.00 at Ice It for a 15% surcharge coffee then Frenchie and Ben brought the boat to shore with the rising tide while Sam and Micah sorted out fuel and ice. Becci and Eve did something but it probably wasn't very productive as they lack menergy.
We managed to survive the tug boats race past us as we headed out towards Motuihe past a packed North Head. The outboard was cut once we were clear of the traffic and our faithful spinnaker followed soon afterwards. We hauled ass downwind for a good hour before dropping the kite for some reason.
We passed Islington Bay on our way to Motuihe despite Ben claiming its equidistance (skippers note: if we´d gone inside of Brownś island we may have been closer to equidistant, however given our collision last time we decided to avoid Musick point and head for where the wind was) from Devonport and Becci and Micah could hold on for a swim at our destination so they hoped overboard for a tinkle. Forgetting our fabulous new ladder, both eventually hoisted themselves into William Shatner's Pants for a bit of a tug but eventually joined the rest of the crew back onboard via the ladder.
Motuihe turned out to be a poor destination for the day (skippers note: we actually didn´t go into the intended bay, but stayed on the outskirts, why I do not remember, but we´ll blame the ladies lack of preposterone - next time we´ll get it right!). The bay was unsheltered and the weather decided to pack it in while we were there. I think everybody managed a swim but I could be mistaken. Yummy manwiches, pasta salad and roasted chicken were consumed for lunch before heading back home to Devonport in a worsening sea.
The swells and wind really picked up but Ben donned his expensive jacket so we was right. We dropped the main, and Sam, tired its dirty yellowness, threw the sail cover into the ocean never to be seen again. The main was removed to protect it from New Zealand's extreme UV spectrum and the outboard was cranked hard all the way home. Around 6.00pm we hit shore, unloaded and moored. Unfortunately the weather had dampened the spirit somewhat and we were certainly not too energetic for normal sports by that point but good times were had, indeed they were.
We managed to survive the tug boats race past us as we headed out towards Motuihe past a packed North Head. The outboard was cut once we were clear of the traffic and our faithful spinnaker followed soon afterwards. We hauled ass downwind for a good hour before dropping the kite for some reason.
We passed Islington Bay on our way to Motuihe despite Ben claiming its equidistance (skippers note: if we´d gone inside of Brownś island we may have been closer to equidistant, however given our collision last time we decided to avoid Musick point and head for where the wind was) from Devonport and Becci and Micah could hold on for a swim at our destination so they hoped overboard for a tinkle. Forgetting our fabulous new ladder, both eventually hoisted themselves into William Shatner's Pants for a bit of a tug but eventually joined the rest of the crew back onboard via the ladder.
Motuihe turned out to be a poor destination for the day (skippers note: we actually didn´t go into the intended bay, but stayed on the outskirts, why I do not remember, but we´ll blame the ladies lack of preposterone - next time we´ll get it right!). The bay was unsheltered and the weather decided to pack it in while we were there. I think everybody managed a swim but I could be mistaken. Yummy manwiches, pasta salad and roasted chicken were consumed for lunch before heading back home to Devonport in a worsening sea.
The swells and wind really picked up but Ben donned his expensive jacket so we was right. We dropped the main, and Sam, tired its dirty yellowness, threw the sail cover into the ocean never to be seen again. The main was removed to protect it from New Zealand's extreme UV spectrum and the outboard was cranked hard all the way home. Around 6.00pm we hit shore, unloaded and moored. Unfortunately the weather had dampened the spirit somewhat and we were certainly not too energetic for normal sports by that point but good times were had, indeed they were.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Ladder installation
Saturday 26th January, Frenchie and Sam met up at midday and bought a four step 2+2 stainless steel ladder for installation on the transom. It took two hours of painstaking hard work to screw four large stainless steel bolts through the fiberglass in unimaginably uncomfortable positions. Our original plans did not work out exactly as we had imagined by out ingenuity allowed us to result in a professional finish, ready for Anniversary Day swimming.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
New Years trip to Waiheke
Monday 31st December 2007 Frenchie, Sam and Ben set out for the boat at 9.00am. Ben and Sam rowed out and ran her aground for loading of New Year essentials while Frenchie moved his car. We motored out of the bay, raised the main and unfurled the genoa soon afterwards. The wind picked up as we passed North Head and we cut the engine. We were soon overtaken by a Russian Navy ship, which Ben and Frenchie took pictures of for about half an hour yielding the two photos below. Heading towards the gap between Browns Island and Musick Point, Ben wired a switch up to the new navigation lights and had Frenchie on the bow checking them. All of a sudden Frenchie shouted "Rock!" and we stopped suddenly as we slammed into West Bastion Reef about half a metre below the surface. We quickly dropped the sails and reversed off the rocks with the outboard. We then headed around Browns Island, no damage done.
The wind dropped off a bit and we motored for a while and Frenchie produced some manwhiches. Sam jumped into the dinghy to give it a good bailing, which aided our speed before we cut the motor for a swim. Frenchie delighted us with the usual swimming drama by making a big kufufle out of getting back onboard.
Around 3.00pm we cranked the outboard and headed straight for Otakawhe Bay where we arrived at 4.50pm. We ran aground, unloaded and moored ready for New Years celebrations.
New Years afternoon we beached the boat, scraped the old name off and removed all signs of the previous and new name. Ben then asked forgiveness from Poseidon and Frenchie did his business on the bow. The Tui in the Hand vinyl decal was then applied and our newly named ship was remoored.
Wednesday 2nd January 2008 we departed Otakawhe Bay around 10.15am into a calm sea. We all cranked our first Tui's in our hands since the renaming and set forth towards Devonport. An uneventful bus massively enjoyable time was had cruising home. We managed to avoid all hidden reefs by following other boats between Browns Island and Halfmoon Bay and made such good time that we decided to detour past the harbour bridge before arriving at the mooring at 5ish. Success!
The wind dropped off a bit and we motored for a while and Frenchie produced some manwhiches. Sam jumped into the dinghy to give it a good bailing, which aided our speed before we cut the motor for a swim. Frenchie delighted us with the usual swimming drama by making a big kufufle out of getting back onboard.
Around 3.00pm we cranked the outboard and headed straight for Otakawhe Bay where we arrived at 4.50pm. We ran aground, unloaded and moored ready for New Years celebrations.
New Years afternoon we beached the boat, scraped the old name off and removed all signs of the previous and new name. Ben then asked forgiveness from Poseidon and Frenchie did his business on the bow. The Tui in the Hand vinyl decal was then applied and our newly named ship was remoored.
Wednesday 2nd January 2008 we departed Otakawhe Bay around 10.15am into a calm sea. We all cranked our first Tui's in our hands since the renaming and set forth towards Devonport. An uneventful bus massively enjoyable time was had cruising home. We managed to avoid all hidden reefs by following other boats between Browns Island and Halfmoon Bay and made such good time that we decided to detour past the harbour bridge before arriving at the mooring at 5ish. Success!
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